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Location notes

A narrow footbridge between a residential suburb of Wimbledon and a trading estate. Situated on the Waterloo - Woking and Wimbledon - Sutton lines.

Railway type and traffic

Lots of South West Trains (units basically), you will find a lot of Class 450, 455 and plenty Classes 159, 442, 444 a few Class 170 and occasional the Class 458.The Thameslink services using the eastern most lines are in the hands of Class 319s, while Southern operate peak hour trains over these lines with Class 455 / 456.

Environment

A fairly well patronied suburban footbridge, where it may not be advisable to linger after dusk. The other side of the bridge backs onto an alleyway and light industrial type buildings.

Road directions

It is best to travel by public transport from either Wimbledon Station, due to the extreme difficulty of parking.It may be possible to find space in the local suburbs but due to the proximity to the centre of Wimbledon it is likely that all local parking is either metered or reserved for permit holders. There is also a privately managed car park in St George's Road close to Wimbledon Station.

Leave the A3 at the A298 junction which is just south of New Malden and head along it towards Wimbledon / Merton. After the road thins to a single carriageway it passes under the railway. From here take the 6th turning on the left (Merton Hall Road). At the end of this road take a left and first right, which is the cul-de-sac with the footbridge at the end (Merton Hall Road).

The local streets on the east side of the line are in well to do suburb, however these are almost certainly reserved for resident permit holders. There is a privately managed car park on St George's Road close to Wimbledon Station. Continue about 500m on the A238 after passing under the railway, taking the B285 Hartfield Rd to the left. On reaching the main Wimbledon Broadway, St George's Road is the first turning on the left.

Public transport

By Rail - turn right outside Wimbledon Station entrance along the very busy main road. Turn left to cross at the first set of pedestrian lights and continue in this direction down Worple Road. Take the seventh left turning here into Elm Grove which is the short cul-de-sac at the other side of the line. Distance approx 750m.

The footbridge is surprisingly quiet given its location, but there is a steady pedestrian traffic and sometimes noise from the industrial buildings nearby.There are multiple tracks at this location - looking from west to east they are Up Fast to Waterloo, Down fast, Up Slow, Down Slow and the two Thameslink lines to / from Sutton furthest east.The line runs south, south-west here, so southbound trains are best until about noon (GMT). From mid-afternoon it is then possible to shoot southbound trains from the west side of the line. In summer an excellent early morning view can be had of up trains. The location is generally very open, so if the sun is in, it is possible to cover pretty much any angle. Trains heading north off the Sutton branch are a little poor for photography as they are coming off a tight bend.Unlike most other London area footbridges there is only a low height to the footbridge sides.

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